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Church mast is toppled

Plan axed after vote


Father Andrew Meldrum
A CHURCH has scrapped lucrative plans to site a mobile phone transmitter in its spire after protests from residents concerned about the threat to their health.
Father Andrew Meldrum, vicar of St Anne’s Church in Highgate, consulted residents over the summer on the proposal by mobile phone firm T-mobile.
The Grade II-listed church at the bottom of Highgate West Hill could have received an estimated £10,000 a year for the rental of its spire. It has just completed a £350,000 renovation of its ageing roof.
But the phone transmitter plan met with outrage from some residents concerned about the potential hazards.
Deborah Laing, a mother-of-five from Langbourne Avenue, told church bosses that it was a breach of her human rights, adding: “It will go up over my dead body.”
And resident Donald Berman, who lives next to the church, said: “I am opposed to it 150 per cent. We simply do not have enough evidence that these telephone masts are safe.”
At an extraordinary meeting of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), which governs St Anne’s, on Thursday a vote went against the controversial plan.
Fr Meldrum said: “We are grateful to all our neighbours who responded to our consultation on the proposal. We sent out 603 letters and we received 61 replies, which were equally divided between those in favour and those against.
“Having discussed all the issues surrounding the proposal and taken into account all the responses, we have decided we do not wish to proceed further with the proposal.”
Mr Berman told the New Journal he was grateful that the church had taken residents’ concerns on board.
He added: “If nothing else, it has made us all aware of the predicament the church faces in terms of its funding. I am hoping we can work together over the next year on events that will benefit the church and the community.”



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